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How
Much Exercise do I need?
For many years the government stated that everyone should
spend 30 minutes a day in physical activity. Recently the
Institute of Medicine (part of the National Academy of Sciences)
doubled that recommendation-an hour every day of moderately
intense activity.
O.K. so who do I listen too, who is right, what benefits
do I get from it?
Messages from the government, newspapers, media, and magazines
can be confusing and contradictory. We certainly don’t
want to scare people off. Say your active in the way of
gardening once or twice a week, take a couple leisure walks
during the week, shop, do light housework daily. Is this
enough?
I am sorry to give you the news but you need more, however
it is important that you stay active during the day besides
your daily exercise time. Exercise is essential to a healthy
life. It has many rewards. It improves mood, lowers blood
pressure and improves cholesterol levels. It reduces the
risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
Regular exercise helps develop and maintain healthy bones,
muscles, joints and tissue. It reduces falls in older adults
especially if a balance program is practiced and relieves
arthritis pain in the joints. It brings circulation to your
body. You will love your exercise once you’ve done
it for a while. If feels good to stimulate and work your
body.
What is the ideal amount of exercise each person should
have? This all depends on you and your weight, goals, eating
patterns, your risk factors, and how old you are.
Here are some simple key things to apply:
- If
you are healthy and do not need to lose weight, 30 minutes
of aerobic activity at moderately intense activity every
day is beneficial.
- If
you need to lose weight, at least 60 minutes of aerobic
exercise a day, 6-7 days a week at a pace that will raise
your heart rate, but be informed of your heart rate zones
for your age, condition and goals.
- Shorter
sessions are valuable. You can break up your time into
10-20 minute sessions during the course of the day.
- Walking
at a brisk pace 3.5-4.0 mph (miles per hour) this is 15-17
minutes for each mile. Usually 4 times around a school
track is 1 mile. You can judge your walking pace by a
treadmill measured mile.
- You
always here talk the steps instead of the elevator, walk
your shopping cart to the front of the store, park out
in the parking lot, choose extra activity through each
day and make it a habit.
- Strength
training is key for strength of bones, lean muscle tissue
for increasing your metabolism so you can burn more calories
at rest, stronger muscle fiber, reduce stress from joints,
stronger overall body, and a sculpted physique. It is
wise to work with a certified trainer to teach you proper
technique and how to progress in stages of your program.
- Overweight
people that are looking to raise their HDL cholesterol
levels (the good heart cholesterol) usually need to do
longer and more intense workouts, such as brisk walking,
cycling, swimming and running. Overweight people who lose
weight via exercise are likely to see the biggest increase
in HDL.
- If
you are older or have not exercised before, it is important
that you start slowly. You will not be able to walk 3.5-4.0
miles per hour at first, build slowly and increase speed
and duration at a slow pace to prevent injury and not
to over exert yourself.
If you need help with a program design or training methods,
please contact us at PhysicallyFocused@sbcglobal.net PhysicallyFocused@sbcglobal.net
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